In short (now I'm gonna quote much from the description of the book) Suter argues that the hymn involves an earlier tale of Demeter and Persephone that predates the seventh century B.C.E. (when the hymn was composed) and that the story of Persephone's abduction does not reflect a female initiation rite into adulthood, as has been argued, but rather a hieros gamos (a sacred marriage). She also argues that there are signs of an earlier rivalry between the goddesses Demeter and Persephone and that one of the purposes of the hymn is to emphasize Demeter's priority over Persephone. She comes to the conclusion that Persephone was once a powerful goddess in her own right, independent of Hades and of Demeter as well.

Of course this is highly speculative, but I still think it's quite fun to read (one thing that I didn't like though, was that one of all the methods she used in her analysis of the hymn was psychoanalysis. I don't think psychoanalysis has much to contribute in a context like this. Or in any academic context at all).

To see other drawings where I talk about this book go here [link] and here [link]